Blackfoot Forest Broken Drum

At the borders.

Fate had not treated Pallas kindly since her last forage near a packland, but this did not deter the ironclad wolf from approaching what appeared to be a settlement. Since her altercation with the Dark Brotherhood she carried herself in the manner of a rogue; she was roughshod and thorny, and it seemed to reflect right down to the furious disarray of her coat. And still, there was one other quality about Pallas that made her dangerous: she was hungry.

Hunger was what drove her closer, though she kept a wide bay as to not be challenged for being too close. For want of food she had been mistakenly assailed before, and she would not let whoever approached her make the same mistake Burke and Nemesis had. This time, she made herself known: a thick bay pressed forth from her throat, an entreating call that seemed to ask for audience.

The call sounded, and Minna approached, still reeling from the takeover and the sudden chaos that had without warning become her life. She slipped to the borders, a female approached and Minna snarled softly. her anger was displaced, perhaps, but she did not realize this. She approached, the thick scent of the new king assualting her nose. Of course he had already marked the borders. Minna was smaller then the female, but had a shattered pack behind her. She snarled softly, warning her should she try anything, and greeted her briskly. "What do you want." it had the flatness of a statement, said in an even tone. Her eyes rose, taking in this female. most definitely travel worn. What was her business by the borders?

Pallas' ears strained as she thought she heard a concealed snarl; she jerked her head upright and her eyes fell on an agouti female that had pulled forth from the mainland. Pallas studied this female, who seemed just as exhausted as she: though something about the way she carried herself suggested it was a different kind of fatigue. Pallas thought she looked defeated, though she did not articulate it. Instead she reined in her tongue, keeping her deportment somewhat neutral despite the less than favorable greeting she had received. If it was one thing the Stormthorn had learned since her introduction into the Teekon it was that diplomacy was sometimes more deadly than teeth; and in many cases, it had saved her from an early execution.

She did not pause or even consider the wolf's flat inquiry: instead, the answer was shoved forth with the sharp abruptness of raw honesty. "Food." It was a transparent reply, and one look at her plaintive gaze showed Pallas was anything but a liar. "You in charge?"

She announced her intent without clever wordplay nor by skirting around the fact, she was here for food. Minna's brow arched, what was this femme doing, searching for a meal so close to packlands? She relaxed slightly, this female would not rip out her throat immedietly, though her stance remained alert and her tail lifted the slightest. "You shouldn't be hunting so close to our borders" she said after a moment. "And no, I'm not in charge. Though I do doubt you'de like to meet the one who is." Kierkegaard was an imposing figure, and she doubted he would stand for an intruder so close to the borders, one searching for food none the less.

While Pallas had stopped openly studying Minna moments prior, the examination continued inwardly. She was sizing up the wolf in the way an anaconda might size up potential prey. Was it eatable? Would it fight back? Can it hurt me?

The wolf was quick to admonish Pallas, though the suggestion her etiquette was lacking flowed smoothly off of the Stormthorn not unlike water off a duck's back. "Oh?" The pariah uttered, confident: "better make me a pack member then." She lifted her muzzle, having returned to brazenly inspecting the wolf. She may not have said much, but the language she used was important. In many ways, Minna had said enough for the she-wolf to find herself rather deadset on meeting this individual. "Maybe I'd like to decide that for myself." The bullish wolf rejoined, fully expecting Minna to oblige her.

Minna didn't like this one. She was arrogant, she decided, and rather upsetting. But when the girl asked to see the alpha, Minna stared deapanned at her before simply lifting her muzzle and calling for @Kierkegaard, her howl renting the air like an arrow to hopefully fall open the ears of the upsurper. Finished, she looked back at the girl. "Very well." she said evenly, sizing up the woman. She was larger then Minna, but everyone was, pretty much. But she was a lone wolf, and Minna was healthier then her. Should she try anything, Minna would not hesitate to rip into her, and beside, the wonderful new alpha should be on his way.

The call struck his ears and the large ghostly figure travelled in the direction of its origin with furrowed brows and determined movements. The voice on the border had been familiar to him; the female he had met shortly after taking the position from their leader. She had been quick to show her respect to him and to listen to the words that he had spoken to her, though he did not know if Minna had done so out of fear or if she had further plans against him. He could not trust them immediately, and so it was his duty to put blood in their ranks that he could rely on. Closing the distance on the border, the large ghost stepped through the foliage and emerged on the other side to find his Omega and a rangy stranger. He thought of his own trials as a loner and peered curiously to the female.
 
“What brings you to my borders?” the gruff creature growled to her in a rumbling baritone. The fur along his neck and shoulders stood rigid and his fiery gaze was roaming her form. Turning for a moment, Kierkegaard looked to Minna with a careful regard for her being. His tail wavered just slightly out of thanks for approaching the loner in their midst. It was his turn to test Pallas now.  

Pallas was pleased Minna did not refuse her: in truth, had the agouti said no Pallas would have had very little recourse for retaliation. Content, the she-wolf assumed a patient pose and sat on her haunches in a manner not unlike a cat's.

She was not one for small talk, so no idle banter was offered in the interim. Her torn ears rose forward as the sound of another approaching caught her attention. The Stormthorn rose cautiously, studying the rangy and feral wolf that strode confidently into view. She assumed immediately he was the one Minna had said was in charge, and there was much about him that seemed at once both remote and chaotic. She kept her pose neutral, her gaze unchallenging, and when the male spoke she answered with the same immediacy she had provided Minna.

"Necessity." The reply was prompt, stripped of any sort of formality and naked. She would find some way to be useful to Kierkegaard in the same manner she hoped he would be useful to her. "A mutual thing, I assume. What is it you need? I will offer it, in exchange for acceptance." Whatever it was, Pallas hoped it was some sort of violent deportment: something about this male suggested a dark strain of rampage coursed through him.

can't help myself... he's off to the side...

Aaron comes to Minna's call-- mostly by force of habit. When he arrives he sees that his attacker has already arrived, and he forces his head down and averts his gaze. After a few moments it trails to the intruder-- a rather ratty woman who is less than attractive in his eyes. The pack is almost filled by now, and he doubts that Keirke even knows the laws he had in place to begin with. Not that it matters now, Aaron has already thrown all of his ideals away-- why hold them if the one in charge refuses to respect them? It made sense to him.

He stares at Pallas, studying her features. He is unsure if he would allow her in-- again, not that it matters-- and so he waits for Kierkegaard to interrogate her, so he can decide silently for himself.

Minna was mainly silent, but bristled slightly when the female spoke. "Necessity? You came here searching for food, as you so said." But she fell silent, glancing silently at Kierkegard and catching sight of his tail. She, unable to stop herself, filled with pride, and she was appaled. This male was an intruder, his approval should not be met with such feelings. She kept her gaze neutral, gazing at the female by her alpha's side. No. Not her alpha, Kierkegaard. She was content to simply wait in silence, though if this female did or said anything not to the agouti girl's liking, she would not hesitate to speak out.

It wasn't long before Aaron appeared to the forests border and once he had caught sight of Kierkegaard, found himself submissive in appearance. The ashen leader took one look at the other male and simply frowned. He would not force his new rank on this beast any more than was required. Casting the other male from his thoughts, Kierke became focused at the wolf who had approached his borders. Her form reminded him of Moz and he found a strange stirring in his gut. The woman said it had been necessity that had drawn her there. Minna announced that it had been food. He turned to her with his golden vision and nodded his head. "Your wolves do not want me here, but it had been food that drove me to your land too. Times are difficult, Minna," he reminded her in a voice that suggested she had done well, but it was his moment. 

Fixing Pallas with his fiery gaze, he nodded his head. "I have taken this pack by force. I have usurped their Alpha and taken his place. They are not fond of me and will be likely to try to drive me out. If I am to accept you, it will be on the terms that you are to act as a guardian," his voice was stern and his brows were narrowed on the woman. "You will not treat them disrespectfully. I must earn their trust. But you will serve me so that I may rule over them," his voice was gravelly and rough. If this woman could not accept this to begin with, she would be turned away. 

Pallas' gaze cut to the female that spoke in the attempts to decry her statement, and Pallas' gaze was withering. "Food is a necessity." She informed the agouti sharply, unrepentant for the break in her form despite the Alpha before her. Her gaze slid back to Kierkegaard, though she noticed a wolf in the distance. He was deliberately hanging back. She was about to voice her concern when the alpha spoke, and she fell into silence. His words elicited more excitement in Pallas than she could have ever hoped for: the brief explanation certainly revealed why one wolf had elected to hang back. So he had taken them by force; this was a delightful turn of events.

"That is exactly my specialty." The old she-wolf informed the alpha proudly, a low sweep of her tail given as if in curtsy. She wasn't really going to explain just how she had acquired such a specialty, though the evidence was plainly marked on her knotted muzzle. "Pallas Stormthorn."

Aaron watches and listens as Kierkegaard explains the situation, and further as Pallas is elected as a gaurdian for the stranger. He sniffs quickly, his nose scrunching, before turning and retreating back through the underbrush. The wound between his shoulders cracks, and he winces slightly as blood begins to seep from it once again. He would not have allowed her in, but he is no longer in charge.

This would surely not go well in the long run.

we outie <3

So he wanted a bodyguard now, didn't he? Well, this would be difficult. But Minna merely nodded, for she needed his trust, and quickly, if this were to work. So she looked at the female, then at Kierkegaard. This Pallas was despicable, a wrench, but Minna showed no such thing. She wanted to bury her fangs into someone, this female being a likely candidate. But she said none of these things, but looked at the female with an approving glance. "My apolagies, I know that times are rough." turning to Kierkegaard, she kept her expression carefully neutral as she said. "Very well, Kirkegaard. I will respect your word. Do you wish for me to show Pallas around?" she said sincerely. Being alone with the woman might allow her to learn more of her.

He liked her – Pallas Stormthorn – she had a way about her that the wolves of Rosings did not, and the ashen brute was confident that she would make a perfectly capable guardian over him. The scars in her muzzle did well to remind the man that he would need warriors on his side if he were to succeed in taking the pack. He had already used his force on them; he had taken from them the only constant that they had had. Change was necessary, however, and he would show them what they could become when faced with a different leader. His ways were curt and cold, and he was a man who found himself prone to acts of physicality over verbal commands. Actions spoke far louder than any words he had known.
 
Aaron disappeared into the forest once more, and Kierkegaard followed him with a trailing gaze. He was curious as to where the pale creature could be sulking off to. Without another thought, he flicked his ears and drew his gaze back to the woman who had come seeking sustenance and had found herself a place in his ranks. “Welcome then, Pallas. I am Kierkegaard; we will be seeing a lot of each other in the days to come,” he warned her. His mouth had curled down and his expression was stern, but he was still grateful this woman had arrived when she had.
 
Turning to Minna, the ashen ghost nodded his head slowly. He did not think that the agouti female could persuade their new recruit to turn against him. Pallas seemed closer to his brood than theirs. “Yes, Minna please show our new member around the pack. Thank you for your willingness,” gruff words once more fell from his lips. With a quick glance back to the battle-worn woman, Kierkegaard’s gaze bore holes into Pallas’ face. “Come and find me once you are finished,” he told her. The words that he wanted to share with his new guardian would be best left between the two of them, and saved for a later time. Without another grunt, the great brute turned and disappeared back into the flush of trees.

In a way Pallas had half-anticipated a deserved scolding for the admonishment she had unleashed on Minna, but none came. This did little to dampen Pallas' absolutely insufferably high opinion of herself, and her expression seemed some vaguely goading sneer in Minna's direction. She had no idea Minna's thoughts, and perhaps it was better that way. Smoothly Kierkegaard accepted her, though she did not miss the austerity in his flint-like gaze. Indeed, she would see to it they saw plenty of each other -- especially if it meant food.

"I look forward to it." The she-wolf issued, dipping her muzzle in Kierkegaard's direction before making to follow Minna. She had plenty of questions for this little agouti: plenty of questions she would demand answers to.

Last post for me! TY!

Wonderful. Now she needed to show this woman around. Might as well get it over with, and quickly. Kierkegaard vanished, and it was only then when Minna caught the faint scent of Aaron. Was he near? She dared not look for him, but allowed herself a quick glance around. Nothing. Perhaps she had imangined it, but that she doubted. With a glance at the female, Minna spun on her heel.
"Come on, then"